by Sally Morgan
Ducks tend not to damage the fruit and don’t scratch, so could be housed in the fruit cage for much of the year, depending on the size of the cage and the number of birds. Ducks will tackle pests too, especially snails and slugs and their eggs, and they could be introduced into the fruit cage when the sawfly larvae are active, in late spring through to mid summer.
Smaller areas can be used for quail, which could be kept in a house and run within the fruit cage, giving double protection from the fox. Be careful, however, if you plan to let quail run free-range in the cage, as they have a habit of flying up when scared and bashing into the netting.
Fruit-cage netting is not fox- or badger-proof, so remember to put an electric line around the bottom if the cage is accessible to predators. See Chapter 7 for more about chickens, ducks and quail.
Soft fruit to choose from
The table following lists some of the soft fruit that you might consider growing on your plot. Choose thornless varieties where available, for easy harvesting and maintenance.
Soft-fruit planting guide
Fruit Planting guidance Cultivation notes
Blackberry Allow 2-4m (6'6"-13') between plants. Grow in sunny position for sweetest fruit. Support with horizontal wires or fencing, or plant against a wall. Can be trained up a trellis or arch. Mulch in spring. Tie in shoots as they grow. Once fruit is harvested, prune by cutting old shoots to the ground. Suckers readily when tips touch the ground. Modern hybrid varieties tend to have spineless canes and produce larger fruits.
Blackcurrant 1-1.3m (3'3"-4'3") between plants. Can be grown as a cordon. Plant deeper than the original depth to encourage new shoots. Start pruning in its second year, once plant has eight good shoots: remove a quarter of the oldest stems in winter, cutting to the base and creating an open cup shape for good airflow. Blackcurrants benefit from a thick mulch. Feed in summer with comfrey tea.
Blueberry Allow 1m (3'3") between plants. These plants require an acidic soil of about pH 5.5 or lower, so unless you have a naturally acidic soil, you will need to raise the plants in pots with ericaceous compost, or apply plenty of acidic organic matter, such as pine needles, to their bed to reduce the pH. Use two different varieties to ensure cross-pollination. Prune new shoots to 60cm (24") in summer, and winter-prune to remove dead or weak shoots. Mature plants should have a quarter of the oldest stems removed each year.
Gooseberry Allow 1-1.3m (3'3"-4'3") between plants. Can be grown as a cordon or as a lollipop standard (shoots trained into a ball shape with a long bare stem). Once planted, cut back main branches by half and remove the lowest shoots below 20cm (8") from the ground to give access for weeding under the plant and allow airflow, which reduces the risk of mildew. Gooseberries fruit on old wood, i.e. branches from the previous year or before, which produces fruiting spurs.
Honeyberry (Lonicera caerulea) Allow 1.5m (5') between plants. Plant in pairs or groups to aid pollination. Prefers full sun and is drought tolerant. Support with horizontal wires or fencing, or plant against a wall. An edible honeysuckle that grows to 1m (approx. 3') tall, producing blue fruit in late spring. Flowers in late winter, so hand pollination may be needed. Once established, prune in summer after harvesting, thinning overcrowded and weak shoots to the base. Remove tips of young shoots to encourage flowering laterals.
Jostaberry Allow 2m (6'6") between plants. Grows to 2m (6'6") in height, and can be grown as a shrub or trained against a wall. A blackcurrant–gooseberry cross. Fruit forms on the one-year-old or older canes. Prune in winter by removing about half of the new growth. Mulch well.
Juneberry / saskatoon (Amelanchier alnifolia) Allow 1.5m (5') between plants. A North American fruit, similar to blueberry in taste and shape. Also grown as an ornamental. Self-fertile. Bushes can grow to more than 4m (13') if unpruned. Prune to remove any low, spreading branches to encourage airflow, and cut back the shoots to 2m (6'6") in length.
Kiwi fruit Allow 3-4m (10-13') per plant. Plant against a wall or fence, or train over a trellis or arch. Prefers a slightly acidic soil. Kiwi fruits are vigorous plants, extending up to 9m (30'). Plants may be either all-female, all-male or self-fertile. If self-fertile, you can plant just one; all-female plants need a male plant to pollinate them in a ratio of 3 to 4 females per male. Mulch well so soil doesn’t dry out in summer. Tie in the long stems as they grow. Once the plants have established, prune the side shoots in summer and winter. Each winter, cut one-third of the oldest side shoots back to a bud about 5cm (2") from the main stem.
Lingonberry / cowberry Allow 0.5m (20") between plants. Prefers moist, acidic soils. A low-growing evergreen bush to 20cm (8"), with attractive red berries that are bitter and need cooking. Very cold hardy. Could be planted as a ground cover along hedges.
Loganberry Allow 2m (6'6") between plants. Canes extend to about 2m (6'). Prefers full sun. Train along a fence or wall, or provide supporting wires. A cross between a blackberry and a raspberry. Fruit forms on one-year-old canes. After fruiting, cut canes to the ground.
Raspberry Plant canes 40-50cm (16-20") apart, with a row spacing of 1.5-2m (5'-6'6") for summer raspberries and 2m (6'6") for autumn raspberries. Mulch in spring. Summer-fruiting canes need supporting on horizontal wires supported by posts unless grown against a sunny wall or fence. They fruit on the last season’s growth, so prune once the fruit are picked by cutting old brown canes to the ground, and tie in the new shoots. Autumn-fruiting varieties don’t always need supporting. They fruit on the current season’s growth. Cut the canes to the ground in late winter or early spring. Or, for double cropping, leave unpruned, and a modest early crop will form on the old canes. After the first crop cut the old canes to the ground, and fruit will form on the new canes.
Redcurrant Grow as bushes, cordons or espaliers. Allow 1-1.3m (3'3"-4'3") between bushes. Treat more like gooseberries than like blackcurrants. Once established, in winter prune main branches by one-third, just above an outward-pointing bud, trying to keep the centre of the plant open.
Strawberry Plant in open sunny position in rich soil, 45cm (18") apart, in rows 75cm (30") apart. Strawberries do better planted through ground-cover fabric, which reduces weeding and retains moisture. Benefits from regular feeding throughout the growing season. After fruiting, cut back the foliage and allow just the strongest runners to root to provide replacement plants; remove the rest. Replace plants every 3 to 4 years.
Tayberry Allow 2.4m (8') between plants, as they are vigorous, with canes reaching 2.5m (8') in length. Grow against a sunny wall or use supporting wires. The plants are very heavy when fruiting. This is a cross between a blackberry and raspberry and is a prolific cropper. ‘Floricane’ varieties fruit on the canes from the previous year: cut to ground level after harvesting and tie in the new canes. ‘Primocanes’ flower and fruit on the current year’s growth and should be cut down after fruiting.
Whitecurrant Grow as bushes, cordons or espaliers. Allow 1-1.3m (3'3"-4'3") between bushes. Treat more like gooseberries than like blackcurrants. Once established, prune main branches by about one-third in winter, just above an outward-pointing bud, trying to keep the centre of the plant open.
Soft-fruit hedges or screens
Don’t forget that fruit such as currants and gooseberries can be grown as cordons and fans too (see pages 104-6), using supporting wires and posts or trained against a wall to take up minimal space. Choose varieties that have a vigorous and upright growth habit. Gooseberry cordons should be planted about 35cm (14") apart, while currant cordons need a bit more space, at 40cm (16"). The rooted cuttings are planted at a 45-degree angle and the leading shoot is trained to a supporting bamboo cane which is secured to the wires. Remove any side shoots less than 15cm (6") from the ground. The following year, prune the shoots twice: first in mid summer, when all the side shoots should be cut to five leaves, and again in winter, when the side shoots are taken back to two buds. Prune the growing tip by one-third. Allow the cordon to reach about 1.8m (6') in length, although longer lengths are possible o
n a wall where more support is available.
In this orchard, a cordon of gooseberries has been planted between two rows of fruit trees to maximize use of the land.
If you don’t have room for a soft-fruit bed or cage, then a fruiting hedge made up of blackcurrants, gooseberries, redcurrants and whitecurrants is a good alternative. Plant at about two plants per metre (3'), and either allow them to grow into bushes and prune to about 1m (3') in height, or train them as cordons, using stakes and wire to support the shoots. Unsightly trellises or chain-link fencing can be disguised with climbing blackberry, tayberry and loganberry plants.
Taking cuttings
It’s easy to propagate soft fruit and produce a large number of plants for the plot very cheaply.
Currants, gooseberries and jostaberries are best propagated from hardwood cuttings taken in winter, when the plants are dormant. Cut off a healthy stem at the base that is at least 30cm (12") long and as thick as a pencil with about six buds along its length. Remove the soft growth at the tip. Then trim it to about 25cm (10"), cutting below a bud at the base and just above a bud at the top. Make a deep slot in your nursery bed, pour some sharp sand into the base of the slot, and insert the cuttings so that half of their length is in the ground, leaving 20cm (8") between cuttings. Firm the soil with your feet and leave the cuttings in place until the following autumn, when they can be transplanted to their final place. If you don’t have a nursery bed, you could use a large container.
Blackberries can be propagated by stem cuttings too. After harvesting the fruit, simply take a leafy length of cane of about 15cm (6") and insert it into the nursery bed to a depth of about 8cm (3"). Water well and keep moist. They should produce roots within a month. Leave them in place and wait until the following autumn before transplanting.
Edible boundaries and barriers
On a small plot it is essential to make use of all of the available space, and that includes the boundaries. You may have a site with an existing hedge boundary, or a wall or fence that could be used for food production. If not, new hedges can easily be established around the boundaries and within the holding to subdivide spaces.
Hedges will not only look attractive all year round but also provide a supply of produce – fruit, nuts, hips, edible flowers, leaves and spices. They are excellent habitats for wildlife, attracting birds and many beneficial insects. An edible hedge can be a large, full-sized boundary structure or just a single line of shrubs of the same species.
A mixed hedge will provide a variety of fruit and nuts, but is more difficult to prune, as each species has its own requirements. Also, the selection of species would need to be considered carefully, as the inclusion of faster-growing, more aggressive species, such as elder and blackthorn, can suppress the growth of slower-growing species, such as hazel. The management of a single-species hedge is more straightforward and may therefore be preferable. Species that would suit management as a hedge include pears, wild pear, elder and cherry plum.
Edible hedges are most productive if allowed to grow to their natural height, which may be over 4m (13') tall – so if you want a hedge that is barely a metre (3') or so in height then you would be better to opt for bush species rather than trees, for example a bush cherry rather than a tree, as a tree will not flourish if pruned hard every year.
Try a vegetable hedge
Barriers can also be created within the plot using larger vegetable species. For example, a row of asparagus, globe artichokes, Jerusalem artichokes, sweetcorn or even sunflowers will create a barrier within a few months.
Hedgerow species
A traditional selection of species for an edible hedge in northern Europe includes hazel, blackthorn, hawthorn, crab apple, dog rose and blackberry, but there are other options too (see table). These plants will grow quite quickly and provide a good yield of fruit and nuts for making hedgerow preserves and other products. They will also create a stock-friendly barrier for livestock around the plot. Don’t keep the hedge looking neat and tidy, as it needs to be able to grow to produce a decent harvest.
If you have an existing blackthorn or hawthorn hedge along the edge of your plot, you can convert it to a more varied edible hedge by thinning it and planting edible shrubs and trees in the gaps and alongside it. If the existing hedge is a single row of plants, you can widen it to two or three staggered rows to boost productivity.
Planting your hedge
Hedge planting is usually done during winter, when the plants are dormant. Saplings can be purchased from hedging specialists, which sell bare-rooted stock ready for immediate planting.
Make sure you have prepared the ground before the plants arrive. Remove as much vegetation as possible along the planned line of the hedge, ensuring that perennial weeds are removed, and enrich the soil by covering it with a thick layer of compost or well-rotted manure. To save on labour, you can clear the ground by covering it with sheeting or matting several months before the date of planting. The saplings will be slit-planted, so make sure you can push your spade into the ground – if not, loosen the ground with a fork and remove any stones.
Edible trees and shrubs for hedges and barriers
Common name(s) Latin name Description
Autumn olive Elaeagnus umbellata Vigorous shrub or small tree, growing to 5m (16'), with silver-green leaves, tiny yellow flowers and small, dark red, tasty fruit. Nitrogen fixer, so will boost neighbouring plants.
Barberry Berberis vulgaris Deciduous shrub growing to 3m (10'), with red edible fruits.
Blackberry Rubus fruticosus Vigorous and spreading climber. There are a number of hybrids with spineless canes, which bear larger fruit.
Blackthorn Prunus spinosa Fast-growing, prickly shrub creating dense cover. Grows to 4m (13'). White flowers early in spring; sloes in autumn.
Cherry plum Prunus cerasifera Myrobalan Group Traditionally grown as a shelter belt for orchards, a row makes a good windbreak 6-8m (20-26') high. Yellow or red plum-sized fruit in late summer, which are sweet and juicy.
Chokeberry, black Aronia melanocarpa Grows to 1.5m (5'), with glossy black berries in autumn. Use as a currant.
Cornelian cherry Cornus mas Large shrub or small tree, growing to 4m (13') or more but can be pruned. Bears cherry-like fruit with a plum flavour.
Crab apple Malus sylvestris Usually allowed to grow as a standard tree in a hedge, reaching 8-9m (26-30'). White flowers in late spring and crab apples in autumn, which are ideal for making jellies and wine.
Dog rose Rosa canina Fast-growing climber with arching branches. Pink-white flowers in early summer and edible red hips in autumn.
Ebbinge’s silverberry Elaeagnus x ebbingei Hybrid shrub, evergreen for year-round cover, grows to 5m (16') but can be pruned to desired height. Scented flowers are produced in autumn followed in late spring by small red fruit that ripen to become rich in flavour.
Edible rowan Sorbus aucuparia var. edulis Attractive tree that can grow to 15m (49'), with edible fruit, which are larger than those of the wild rowan. Can be used in preserves.
Elder Sambucus nigra Fast-growing shrub that can reach 8m (26') and outcompete neighbouring plants. Can be pruned. Flat flower heads of edible small white flowers in spring, black fruit in late summer.
Flowering quinces Chaenomeles spp. Bush species that can be grown as a single-species hedge or in a mixed hedge. Can reach 4m (13') or more, but may be pruned to height. Bears apple-shaped fruit that can be used in much the same way as the true quince.
Hawthorn / quickthorn Crataegus monogyna Fast-growing, thorny and hardy shrub or small tree, reaching 6m (20'), with white flowers in late spring and edible red haws in autumn that can be used in preserves.
Hazel Corylus avellana Shrub or small tree, reaching 8m (26') but can be pruned to reduce height. Produces nuts in late summer and autumn but needs cross-pollination for good harvest. Can be coppiced to provide poles and fuel.
Raspberry Rubus idaeus Will carry fruit if planted in a sunny position or alongside a hedge.
/> Rugosa rose Rosa rugosa Fast-growing bush-forming species up to 2m (6'6"); attracts pollinators. The edible flowers can be harvested as well as the large hips produced in autumn.
Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis Forms a decorative hedge to about 1.5m (5') high. White flowers are followed by tasty orange fruit that look like raspberries.
Sea buckthorn Hippophae rhamnoides Large nitrogen-fixing shrub, growing to 6m (20'). Prefers a sunny site with well-drained soil. Both male and female plants needed for fruit. Fruit is tart, but high in vitamin C.
Service tree Sorbus domestica Small-to-medium-sized tree, reaching as high as 25m (82'), with red plum-sized fruit, which need to be frozen to make them edible.
Snowy mespilus Amelanchier lamarckii Shrub or small tree, reaching 12m (40'), with white flowers. The red/purple currant-like berries are apple-flavoured. Attractive orange-red foliage in autumn.
Szechuan pepper Zanthoxylum schinifolium Aromatic shrub that grows to 4m (13'), ideal for creating a single-species hedge. The dark red peppercorn-like fruits are used as a spice.